The game, scheduled as a night session, only ended at 1.15 a.m. local time and lasted from May to June. After Djokovic initially fended off three match points in the tie-break of the fourth set, Nadal closed the sack with a backhand winner down the line. “Incredible. The whole thing is very emotional, this tournament means so much to me, it’s the most special place for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Nadal said in the interview, visibly relieved.
The 13-time Roland-Garros winner was excellent in the early and largely high-class summit meeting between the two tennis giants. In the very first game he took Djokovic’s serve and won the first set in a superior manner. In the second round he again had two breaks, only then did Djokovic break through for the first time and the Serb found his way into the game.
As a result, the balance of power to Djokovic seemed to have shifted and the defending champion made a much fresher impression. But Nadal didn’t give up. After he withdrew briefly into the catacombs after the equalizer, he went ahead again with a 6:2. Then he fended off two set balls in the fourth set at Service Djokovic and played big again in the tie-break. The revenge for last year’s semi-final loss was perfect deep into the night.
A sentence and a half close to perfection
The quarter-final, stylized as the early final, was the 59th meeting between Roger Federer’s two long-time rivals – there hasn’t been a more frequent duel on the ATP Tour. The ratio is now 30:29 for Djokovic, with Nadal extending his record on clay to 20:8 and the Spaniard asserting himself in 8 out of 10 cases at the French Open. At the same time, it was Nadal’s 107th victory in his 110th game at the French Open.
At first there was no trace of Nadal’s alleged disadvantage in the night session. For one and a half sentences, the Spaniard moved close to perfection. He played with excellent length, hardly ever let himself be outwitted on offense and always freed himself splendidly from the defensive. He compensated for the reduced effect of his topspin with even more effort, as the measurements showed.
It was to be expected that this level would hardly be maintained. In fact, after Nadal’s initial dominance, the game also changed significantly as Djokovic recorded back-to-back breaks after trailing 3-0 in the second set.
Titles 14 and 22 within reach – if the foot holds
Nadal no longer dominated. On the contrary, now Djokovic seemed like the stronger player on the pitch. This impression was reinforced by the fact that Nadal was no longer able to conceal his foot problems for a few moments. But the Mallorcan bounced back, two more breaks helped him to a 2:1 set lead and his unshakable fighting spirit to decide before the fifth set.
Nadal is two wins away from his 14th French Open triumph and 22nd Grand Slam title. His penultimate hurdle is Alexander Zverev on Friday – and not Carlos Alcaraz as many had hoped. Germany, third in the world rankings, beat the scene’s shooting star in four sets early in the evening.
The finalist from the bottom half of the tableau will definitely be the outsider on Sunday. With Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, Andrej Rublew and Marin Cilic, even lower-ranked players are involved after Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas left. (sda)
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